


You Always This Quiet?

by abrasivepersonalitytendersoul



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Adoption, F/M, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 05:16:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6941389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abrasivepersonalitytendersoul/pseuds/abrasivepersonalitytendersoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is from a series of requests on Tumblr.  Just some cute things.</p>
    </blockquote>





	You Always This Quiet?

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a series of requests on Tumblr. Just some cute things.

After weeks of researching and prepping, the day finally came. You woke up early and made a special breakfast for you and Rafael. He double checked the house to make sure nothing could be broken if you were beaten to the punch. The apartment was clean, safe, and most of all, ready for the next step in your life.

Rafael drove you to the office to make things official. After an hour of waiting, the social worker came out of her office with a child of about four years old. Your daughter. You were overcome with emotion and couldn’t hold your tears back. You looked to your husband, who was trying to remain stoic, but you knew his eyes betrayed him. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Barba, this is Valentina. Valentina, these are your new parents, Rafael and (Y/N).”

You knelt on the floor and held your arms open, “Hello, Valentina. Come to mommy.”

Valentina hid behind the social worker’s skirt.

“It’s okay, they are going to take you home forever. Say hello.” She remained hidden.

“Hola, angelito. Mi nombre es Rafael y ella es Y/N. Papí y Mamí,” Rafael said as he knelt down next to you.

Valentina’s eyes lit up and walked tentatively toward Rafael. He gingerly grabbed her hand and kissed it. She giggled and threw her little arms around Rafael’s neck. He stood up and held her and cooed her. He passed her off to you and while she squirmed and held her arms out for Rafael, she eventually stopped wiggling around so much. She still didn’t take to you like she did with Rafael.

You and Rafael signed papers, took some pictures, thanked the social worker for her help, and left the office. By now, it was about lunch time so Rafael took you all to a Spanish restaurant to celebrate the new addition to your family. Once you were seated, Rafael excused himself to use the restroom, so it was just you and Valentina.

You didn’t handle awkward silences very well, and while this didn’t quite constitute the awkward silence label, you still were unsure of yourself. It was pretty evident Valentina knew very little, if any, English. You were pretty sure your Spanish was about as good as her English. It wasn’t that you hadn’t tried over the years, you just had a hard time picking up new languages.

“You always this quiet?” you sheepishly asked your daughter. You were met with silence and a blank stare.

The waiter came by and asked for your drink orders. You decided to play it safe with three waters. Rafael could ask what she wanted when he got back. You sat in your seat, trying to hold your frustrated tears back. You wanted so badly to connect with her, but the language barrier was too great. You and Rafael had agreed to adopting a child from a Spanish speaking country. Rafael would be able to help maintain the culture and language the child was born with, while also translating the world for them. 

It sounded like a good idea at the time, but you wanted to talk to your daughter. You wanted to know her favorite colors, animals, foods, candies, and so many other things. Rafael returned to his seat and started looking at the menu, unaware to your inner torment.

The rest of the day was settling in at home and letting Valentina explore the apartment. The social worker had mentioned to you that you should let the child explore her new environment at her own pace and to just sit back and let her learn her way around. You and Rafael sat on the couch and listened for any sounds of distress. He held your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours.

“What is it, Y/N?” he asked.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to bond with her, Raf. I don’t know how to talk to her, and I’m afraid she will hate me,” you said tearfully.

“Mi amor, we’ve only had her since this morning. Give it time. She will learn English in time and you will pick up on bits of Spanish. You’ve learned some since we’ve been together and now you get to learn more.” He pulled your head to his lips and kissed your temple. That’s when your tears began to fall freely.

All of a sudden, you felt two tiny hands on your leg. You looked to see your daughter with worry in her eyes. She looked to Rafael and said, “¿Mamí?”

“Mamí es está triste, quierda,” he said sweetly.

She looked at him and back at you and climbed up into your lap. She laid her head on your chest and hugged you as well as she could with her small arms. You felt Rafael kiss your head again and your daughter settle into your arms. It wasn’t long after that she fell asleep and you realized that it was still a rough road ahead, but it wouldn’t be as scary because you had an amazing husband and daughter.


End file.
